Angela Lansbury thinks women are ‘sometimes’ to blame for being harassed

Angela Lansbury is a living legend, a 92 year-old grand dame of film, television and theater. She is respected and adored around the world. She’s also probably kind of an a–hole. Just know that when I first read part of her quotes, I thought she was being really clever and sarcastic, but as it turns out, she’s not doing that at all. I can understand the inclination to want to believe that Lansbury is, like, a next-level MRA-trolling feminist. But that’s not the reality.

Women must accept some blame for sexual harassment and abuse because they “go out of their way to make themselves attractive” to men, Dame Angela Lansbury has said. While other Hollywood actresses have condemned the stories that have surfaced since the Harvey Weinstein scandal broke, Dame Angela offered a strikingly different take.

“There are two sides to this coin. We have to own up to the fact that women, since time immemorial, have gone out of their way to make themselves attractive. And unfortunately it has backfired on us – and this is where we are today. We must sometimes take blame, women. I really do think that. Although it’s awful to say we can’t make ourselves look as attractive as possible without being knocked down and raped,” the 92-year-old told Radio Times.

She added that the fault does not lie with individual victims: “Should women be prepared for this? No, they shouldn’t have to be. There’s no excuse for that. And I think it will stop now – it will have to. I think a lot of men must be very worried at this point.”

What the ever-loving sh-t, Dame Angela Lansbury? Women should not “own up” to trying to look attractive and thus, somehow, being responsible for our own victimization. Women can wear makeup, they can wear short skirts, they can wear sweatpants or not wash their hair, they can do the most or they can do the least and still be harassed, assaulted, raped or murdered by men. It actually has nothing to do with the perception of attractiveness and everything to do with rape culture, toxic masculinity and misogyny. Enough. Enough of both-side-ism. Enough with “well, look at your own behavior/clothes/alcohol intake” to victims. Enough.